Jack Shepherd

Background

Coming from the UK, I studied a BA degree in History and French at King’s College London, completing theses that looked at the role of religion in the Bosnian War and the motivations of French volunteers for Nazi Germany. As part of this degree, I spent a year at Sciences Po Paris, predominantly studying political science.

My Master’s degree was completed here in Östersund at Mid Sweden University within tourism studies. My Master’s thesis looked at cross-border tourism cooperation within Jämtland in Sweden and Tröndelag in Norway.

Since September 2017, I have been a PhD student in tourism studies at Mid Sweden University.

Current research

My research looks at the role(s) that tourism plays within deeply contested spaces. It has a particular focus on the Israeli-Palestinian context. Given the situation in the region, my research focuses on the role tourism can play in aggravating tensions within this contested space, yet more commonly, on the role tourism has in promoting alternative, more constructive, narratives of the Israeli-Palestinian context. My research pays particular attention to tourism spaces, such as hostels, hotels and hiking trails, that are designed to further the peace agenda in the region.
My work also focuses on the development of reflexive methodologies such as autoethnography within tourism studies and the encouragement of emotional, accessible writing.

Publications

Articles in journals
Articles, book reviews

Articles in journals

Shepherd, J. & Laven, D. (2019). Providing counter-narratives : the positive role of hostels in the Israeli-Palestinian context. Tourism Geographies, , pp. 1-24.    

Articles, book reviews

Shepherd, J. (2019). A Review of “The rise of thana-capitalism and tourism” by Maximiliano E. Korstanje. Tourism Geographies, vol. 21: 4, pp. 731-733.    

Shepherd, J. (2018). Chosen legacies : heritage in regional identity. Tourism Geographies, vol. 20: 4, pp. 759-761.